Dogs on Thursday

Yes, it is Dogs On Thursday, but I have to start out this post with some lovely sock yarn that I bought from Shelly Kang (aka The Heathen Housewife) this past week. Oh, and see the pack of note cards on top? She added them to the package as a bonus. Don't ya just love surprises? The yarn is so soft and luscious, and the colors are beautiful. Can you believe Shelly dyes these herself? I can't wait to find the perfect sock pattern for the yarn. Well, one of them is for my Secret Pal, but I won't include it until the final "reveal" package just in case she stumbles onto this post and figures out who I am. Treat yourself to a visit to Shelly's website and take a look at her lovely knitting, and her impossibly sweet daughters!

Why does the sock yarn get top billing (aside from the fact that I love it so much)? So I could segue into this picture of Emma:

She was "helping" me take the picture. Such a helper. What would I do without her? Tara just sat quietly by, chewing on a nylabone, wondering what all the fuss was about.

While you are visiting other blogs, go on over to Nichole's blog. She is having a contest, and the cause is near and dear to my heart - homeless pets. There are lots of ways to help homeless animals, and several ways to enter into her contest at the same time. I've cast on for a snuggle, but haven't gotten very far yet. Still quilting that baby blanket. Quilting, quilting, quilting. It's has to be done by Saturday, so I'm taking tomorrow off from work and will be quilting my fingers to the bone.

Now for some answers to questions:

Regarding Crocs, Covered In Yarn said "I love love love the little ballet slipper style, but I have an uber narrow foot. The regular crocs swallow me whole, are the ballet's the same way or do you think I may be able to swing them?"

Well, I'm not sure, as I have an average width size 8 1/2 foot, and crocs only come in whole sizes, so the ones I ordered are size 9. They do seem to be a little narrower than the "Cayman" and "Beach" style of crocs. All I can say is to try them for yourself. The advantage to http://www.zappos.com/ is that the shipping is free, both ways. I've sent shoes back before, and it was super-easy to do.

Regarding the Debbie Bliss Alphabet Blanket, silfert said, "Spectacular! I've never tried a pointed edging. Was it hard?"

It was really pretty easy to do, once the edge stitches were all picked up and ready to go. I didn't follow the instructions exactly - it said to work each of the four sides separately and seam the corners. I picked up all four sides at once and worked in the round, thus eliminating the need to seam each of the corners.

A Refreshing Lack of Leather

Yesterday, I placed an order with Zappos, an online shoe store that actually has a category called "Vegetarian Shoes", made without the use of leather or any other animal product. Color me happy! Guess what was delivered today?

Yes, less than 24 hours later, this package arrived. It contains two pair of Crocs - Mary Janes and Primas, both in black.

Hey, maybe I should wear one of each style! No, maybe not.

On a related note, before I discovered the joy of knitting socks, I used to make quilts. I would hurry through the patchwork or applique so I could get to the fun part - the hand-quilting! Well, mom made a baby quilt, and she doesn't like hand quilting, so I offered to do the fun part. I always used these leather thimble-type things that slipped over the middle finger on my right hand. Without it, I couldn't push the needle through the layers of the quilt. I know, metal thimbles have been used for generations, but I could never get the hang of them. Too clunky, too tight, too loose...whatever.

So now I have a quilt to be quilted, and I no longer use leather. What to do?
How about that cushy first aid tape that sticks to itself? Yes! Cut off about 4 inches, wrap it around the top of your finger, and you're in business. I'm happy, mom is happy, and the cows are happy. Happy, happy, happy!

And the winner is....

That's right, the "We Want Clear Crocs" contest is over. If Crocs decides to make clear crocs, you can all pat yourselves on the back. So, six bloggers entered the contest, and I have thought long and hard about how to draw the winner. Actually, not very long, or particularly hard. I knew it had to involve the dogs, though. What I did was print out the comments, cut them apart, placed them on the rug in a carefully planned, painstakingly random manner, and let the dogs in the room to choose.

Note the carefully carefree placement of the slips of paper:

Note the lovely Emma diving right in and picking one out of the group:

Emma is revealing the name of the winner.... It is Knitting Mama! (Go visit her blog - she had the cutest baby boy!)
Congratulations Knitting Mama! As your prize, you can choose a skein of sock yarn from my latest stash acquisition. I just got some Opal sock yarn, and these are the five colors:

It's kind of hard to see from this picture, but the top three look to be all the same patterning, and are, left to right, lightest to darkest. I cast on a pair of Jaywalkers using the middle yarn (Number 2) and this is what they look like so far:

Anyway, Knitting Mama, send me and email at [ dwood333 AT hotmail DOT com ] with your choice of yarn and your mailing address, and I'll send it off to you pronto! Thank you all for participating. I had fun!

Hmmm... Does anyone else notice a certain color popping up an awful lot in this entry?

Yikes, those are some bright toenails!

More tomorrow. Off to bed for now.

We Want Clear Crocs...We Want Clear Crocs...

I was browsing the forums at socknitters.com and came across a couple of threads where sock knitters are lamenting the lack of clear Crocs. I absolutely love Crocs. I don't wear animal products ( I don't eat 'em, why wear 'em?) and have had trouble finding non-leather footwear until Crocs, blessed Crocs, came along. They are comfy, stylish, and cruelty free.

Stylish? My mother calls them "fruit boots". My father says that even though no animals were harmed in the making of Crocs, they die laughing anyway when they see me wearing them. Who cares? Yes, they ARE stylish! I love Crocs, and wear them proudly!

My point is this, could Crocs be convinced to make them in clear? I have a pair of clear clogs made by Sloggers, bought online from Knitters Dream, but they don't have air vents like Crocs. The Sloggers are perfect for me in winter, as my feet are always cold, but I think I'd rather have vents for summer, or my feet would get hot and sweaty and we don't want to go there.

Today, I emailed Crocs and asked if they have any plans to make clear ones - if we all do it, maybe they will be overwhelmed and will consider it! This is the link to the Crocs website and this will take you directly to their contact form . They also have a toll free number: 1-866-306-3179. Let's inundate them with requests from socially conscious sock knitters!

As if you would need any encouragement, everyone who contacts Crocs and leaves me a comment telling me so, will be entered to a special prize drawing. I'll draw one name at random and that person will get said "special prize", yet to be determined. It will have something to do with knitting, though, and probably sock knitting.

To recap, here are the rules:

1) Contact Crocs using this contact form , or by calling their toll-free number: 1-866-306-3179 and politely ask if they have any plans to offer Crocs in clear, as the demand would be great indeed from sock knitters all over the world, and anyone else who paints their toenails and wants to show them off.

2) Leave me a comment letting me know you have contacted them (no proof is needed - knitters are an honorable bunch and if you say you did it, I believe you!)

3) I will draw a winner from the names of everyone who has contacted Crocs by, let's say, noon on May 1st, and that person will receive a special, special prize. I'll post the name of the winner, and my email address so you can email me your mailing address.

Sound good? OK, go to it! Everybody repeat after me...We Want Clear Crocs...We Want Clear Crocs...